Method of and apparatus for filling and packing containers



y 6, 1952 F. B. FISHBURNE ET AL 2,596,018

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND PACKING CONTAINERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 1, 1949 Inventors: Francis B. Fishburne, Clarence H.Hinnont,dr; Thomas A. Ricks,

Attorneys y 6, 1952 F. B. FISHBURNE ET AL 2,596,018

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND PACKING CONTAINERS Filed March 1, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

A 26 Inventors:

Francis B. Fishburne @27 g Clarence H.Hinnon+,'Jr.

. Thomas A. Ricks,

BY 6f, fim /nu W6,

Attorneys y 1952 F. B. FISHBURNE ET AL 2,596,018

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND PACKING CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 1, 1949 FIG ' T.A.Ricks,

INVENTORS Patented May 6, 1952 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND PACKING CONTAINERS Francis B. Fishburne, Asheville, N. (3., Clarence H.

Hinnant, Jr., Richmond, Va... and Thomas A.

Ricks, Durham, N. 0.

Application March 1, 1949, Serial No. 79,094

12 Claims. 1

This invention relates to filling and packing containers with loose material, and more particularly to filling and packing hogsheads with tobacco.

It is common practice to pack tobacco in hogsheads either in the form of whole leaves, or in the form of strips, that is to say, leaves from which the central stems have been removed or partially removed.

The usual method is to deliver the tobacco into the top of the hogshead, either in batches, or, in the case of strip tobacco, in a continuous stream as the material is produced. When the hogshead is sufficiently full, the delivery is stopped, or diverted, and the contents are distributed by laborers walking it into place, or by other means. The contents are then pressed or tamped down by means of a suitable power press. This filling and pressing operation may be repeated several times, before the desired quantity of tobacco has been packed into the hogshead.

This method of packing, as heretofore practiced, has resulted in the mass of tobacco being packed more tightly in the middle than at the sides, thus producing a hard central core.

This has created a serious problem. When the packed tobacco is delivered to processors or manufacturers, the mass is removed from the hogshead and is then usually subjected to the action of steam, heat, hot air or vacuum processing to properly condition the tobacco for further operations. It has been found however that this conditioning treatment does not readily penetrate or extend into the hard central core, and thus it has been impossible to produce uniform results throughout the mass of tobacco.

The main object of the present invention is to overcome this difiiculty, and to this end the invention contemplates a method of and means for so filling and packing a hogshead that the central portion shall not only be no denser than the side portions, but shall even be less dense, or looser. This is accomplished by delivering the tobacco into the hogshead from a chute or spout and causing relative rotation between the hogshead and chute so that the tobacco is laid in the hogshead in an annular zone.

'means including a movable support on which "the hogshead is carried. and by which it may be readily shifted back and forth from a posi- 2 tion under the delivery spout or chute, to a position beneath a suitable tamping press.

A still further object is to provide a plurality of filling stations with means for feeding the material to either one or the other as desired, whereby one hogshead may be filled while another is being tamped.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, reference is had to the accompanyi ng drawings forming part of this specification and in which:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic view, partly in side elevation and partly in section, illustrating one form of the invention, this form comprising means for rotating the hogshead as the material is delivered thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. ,2 but showing a somewhat modified construction.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation illustrating another form of the invention, namely a form in which the hogshead remains stationary while the delivery spout rotates or gyrates about the axis of the hogshead.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale through the delivery spout and associated vmechanism shown in Fig. 4, parts being broken .away.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, parts being omitted.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section substantially on the line 1-4 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a schematic plan view showing our improved means for filling and tamping the hogshead, and

Fig. 9 is a similar view, in fragmentary side elevation, illustrating a filling station and the tamping press, parts broken away.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and more particularly first to Figs. 1 to 3 thereof, 1 designates a conventional hogshead having a bottom head 2, and this is supported on a platform 3 mounted at the upper end of a rotary shaft 5 driven in any suitable way. The platform 3 has an extension 4 which fits up inside the lower end of the hogshead to hold it in position.

As iscustomary in apparatus for filling hogsheads with tobacco, we provide at the top of the hogshead l a false hogshead or charger 6, and a feed chute 9 is arranged to deliver tangentially into the top of this charger. Preferably the chute has an arcuate edge 9? conforming with the curvature of the charger.

With the arrangementso far described, it will be seen that as the hogshead and charger are rotated by the shaft 5 on a vertical axis and the tobacco is fed continuously from the chute 9, it will be delivered in a more or less annular zone adjacent the side walls of the hogshead. In other words more material will be delivered in the zoneriext'to'the side Walls than will be delivered in the central region of the hogshead. Thus after the hogshead is filled and the tobacco pressed down, the central portion of the mass will be more loosely packed than the outer portions thereof, thus providing whatmay be called a hollow core. g

In Fig. 1 we have conventionally illustrated a plunger or piston I carried at'the lower end of a piston rod 8 operating in a hydraulic cylinder (not shown) for tamping or pressing the tobacco.

Inorder to still further assure the delivery of the tobacco in. an annular zone we may employ, if desired, a curved guide or bafiie I supported '-'above 'a n'dconcentrically"with the hogshead by the plunger f1 Tl-iis'guideor baiil'e is of flexible "m'aterial such as'c'anvas and preferably 'carries aheav yring II at'it'slower'end to maintain it in sha e. seen in Fig. 2, thi's guide or baffle I0 defines-an annular space between itself and the walls of the charger, in which'space the tobacco "clIiVeredby tlie 'chut'e 9 is more or less confined.

-It"-wi-ll =be understood that the canvas guide or baiii'e T0 depeiids from the plunger I and hangs down into the upper end of the charger a suit- "a'bledis'tanc'e which may be regulated by setting tnezpl-unger at the fd'esired point.

Whenthe plungerdescends to "press the tobacco in the hogsheadg as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, this canvas guide is compressed between thefplungeranu mass of tobacco, and collapses longitudinally. 1

Insteadof abo'm'plete circular guide or baiile such as shown-in Figs.;-1 and 2 we may employ only-an arcuate segmemal 'bafile as shown at I 0' and II" in FigB,ithis segriiental baffle being disposed ata 'po'iiit 'ajdjac'erit the end of the feed chuteii.

Instead of rotating the hogshead, we can produce substantiall 'the sa'm'e results by delivering the material ihto 'a stationary hogshead by means of arotarym gratory-s out, mounted to revolve on the axis of the hogshead. Such an arrange- -me'nt is shown in Figs. 4 to 7. In these figures we construct at an elevatedpein t a suitable frame I 2 on which is iixed a s'tatidnary supporting ring formed of a horizontal annular-member l3 anda -vertical cylinitlric-al"ineinber or flange I 4, secured 'togetheras by welding. A-suitable hopper I5 is mounted on this ring.

Projecting downward beneath the ring is a rotary spout 'comprising a relativelyshort vertical portion I6 and a di-agonally extending or inclined portion I1. This spou't is'rigidly secured at its upper end to airing gear 1-8 which is supported on a s'erle's of rollers I' Bjourhalledon pins 28 set into the cylindrical m' 'r'nbe'r -I 4.

Meshing with the r ihg gear I3 is a driving pinion 21 carried at the lower end of a shaft 2| which projects 'down'wardlyfrom a speed reducing gear box 2 2, to'-th e upper end of which is A drip tect the tobacco from conta'mination.

V A non-clog finger li is s'eeured to the rotary spout and extends up into "the bottom of the 4 hopper as clearly shown in Fig. 5. An endless belt 25 is arranged to deliver the tobacco into the hopper I5.

The hogshead I to be filled, surmounted by a suitable charger 6, is supported on a dolly 26 mounted on wheels 21 as clearly shown in Fig. 4,

and in practice the hogshead and charger are positioned with their axes coinciding with the axis of rotation of the spout 16, H. The motor 23 drives the ring gear I8 through the gear box 22'and pinion 2|, thus causing the spout to rotate or 'gyrate about a vertical axis as indicated in Fig. '7. It will be seen that the tobacco discharged -I"-ro'n1 the spout is directed against or towardthe sidewalls of the hogshead and. charger sothat'the tobacco is delivered largely in an annular zone adjacent such walls. Thus, as the tobacco builds up in the hogshead the mass is denser around the sides than at the center.

Where, in the appended claims, we use the word container? we intend this term to include the combined'hogs'head and chargera'ssefriblyflas shown in Figs. lan'd i.

In Figs. 8 and 9 we have illustratedour improved arrangement emia'cilitating the filling and tamp'ing of hogsheads by :i'neans 1 of a rotany spout as above described. a H

In this improved arrangement t'we fillingstations are provided having hoppers designated '45 and l5 -in Fig. 3 and-beneath these hoppers are placed the hogsheads'and chargers to lee filled as indicated in broken lines 'at B' :and 6"' re"s'pectively.

A horizontally disposed endless eon'veyer ze" extends between thetwo hoppers just abov' "the same as shown. Means are provided 'for d'r i-ving this conveyer in either dir'ection desired asindi cated by the arrows in Fig. '8 anda conveyer 28 is arranged to feed'the tobaccoonto the coriveyer v; 2'5 at a point between'thetwohoppers. Thus the ported at thei'r'endsby'a pair of po'stsfor cbl 3 I secured to the frame members ae-"by welding.

From the foregeingit w i-ll be under'steo'd that in practice the hogsheads to be filled :areeach mounted upon a movable-support such as the dolly 25, shown in- Fi-g. '4, so that the'y c'an be readily moved into-position beneath the h'o'pp'ers at the filling statiens. Wl'ien theho'gs'he'ad for example is fill'ed to the ilesired extent with loose tobacco it is -"shi'ft ed -to a aside" beneath the plunger of the :tamping press, as indicate'd at the lefthandsideof FlgSJ'B ahd 9, s'o that'the loose tobacco may be pressed down 'o'r tamped. While this tamping'operation is inl progrTess the conveyer 25' .is reverse'd so asrto "deliver the tobacco into the hogsheadG". Then thefirsthogshead is removediromthepress and shifted back into position under the-hopper I5; while the second hogshead 6" isshifted into position under the press, the conveyeriE' beingagainreversed. Thus, by this arrangement it willbe seen that one hogshead is beingfilled while the -other is being tamped, the hogs'lieads beingalternately shifted back and forth between the respective hoppersand the 'tai'ripingipresis several times .durins the fimn'g' peraucn.

What we claim is:

1. The method of filling a cylindrical container with loose fibrous material which comprises rotating such container in a vertical position about its own axis, delivering a stream of material tangentially into the upper end of the container at a point adjacent the wall thereof, so that such material is deposited mainly in an annular zone, stopping the delivery of material after the desired amount has accumulated, and exerting pressure downwardly on the accumulated mass to compress the same, whereby the material is packed less tightly at the center thanat the sides.

2. The method of filling a cylindrical container with loose, fibrous material which comprises feeding a stream of material into said container from a chute disposed to deliver such material at a point adjacent the wall thereof, and producin relative rotation between said chute and container about the axis of the latter until a substantial mass of material has been deposited, stopping such rotation and delivery of material, and exerting pressure axially upon the deposited mass to compress the same, whereby the compressed mass is packed more tightly adjacent the sides than at the center.

3. The method of filling a cylindrical container with loose fibrous material which comprises rotating such container in a vertical position about its own axis, delivering a stream of material into the upper end of the container at a point spaced laterally from the center thereof, until a substantial mass of material has been built up in an annular zone, stopping the rotation of the container and feeding of material and exerting pressure downwardly on the accumulated mass to compress the same.

4. Apparatus for filling a cylindrical container comprising, in combination, means for supporting the container in upright position, a chute arranged to deliver material into the upper end of said container in such a manner that it is deposited chiefly at a point adjacent the wall thereof, means for producing relative rotation of said chute and container about the axis of the latter, whereby a mass of material is built up in an annular zone, and a power-operated press plunger, normally outside of the container while material is being delivered into the same, arranged to enter the container and exert axial pressure on the mass of material thus built up.

5. Apparatus for filling a cylindrical container, comprising, in combination, means for supporting the container in upright position, means for rotating the container about its own axis, a stationary arcuate form disposed concentrically within the upper end of the container and defining with the walls thereof an annular space, and means for delivering a stream of material into such annular space.

6. Apparatus for filling a rigid cylindrical container, comprising, in combination, means for supporting the container in upright position, means for rotating the container about its own axis, a generally vertically disposed stationary arcuate form of smaller radius than the container suspended above the container and extending concentrically down into the upper end thereof, thus forming with the walls of the container a space which is at least partially annular, and means for delivering a stream of material into such space.

'7. Apparatus for filling a rigid cylindrical container, comprising, in combination, means for supporting the container in upright position,

means for rotating the container about its own axis, a generallyyertically disposed stationary arcuate guide of smaller radius than the, container suspended above the container concentrically therewith, means for adjusting said guide vertically so as to cause it to project down into the container to a varying extent, said guide I forming with the walls of the container a space which is at least partially annular, and means for feeding a stream of material into such space.

8. Apparatus for filling a cylindrical container with compressible material and for compressing the same, comprising, in combination, means for supporting the container in upright position, means for rotating the same about its own axis, a reciprocable presssplunger disposed above said container, an arcuate guide of smaller radius than the container suspended from said plunger concentrically with said container and defining with the wall thereof a space which is at least partially annular, and means for feeding a stream of material into such space, said arcuate guide being flexible, whereby it may collapse longitudinally when said plunger is lowered upon the mass of material in the container to compress the same.

9. Apparatus for filling a cylindrical container with compressible material and for compressin the same, comprising, in combination, means for supporting the container in upright position, means for rotating the same about its own axis, a reciprocable press plunger disposed above said container, an arcuate guide of smaller radius than the container suspended from said plunger concentrically with said container and defining with the wall thereof a space which is at least a chute for delivering a stream of material into u said container, means for producing relative rotation of said chute and container about the axis of the latter, and a circular form. of smaller diameter than the container supported independently of the container adjacent the upper end thereof during the filling operation, said form being disposed below said chute and concentric with said container and of such size as to provide an annular space between itself and the container walls, through which annular space the material is delivered from said chute.

11. Apparatus for filling a cylindrical container, comprising, in combination, means for supporting the container in upright position, a chute for delivering a stream of material into said container, means for producing relative rotation of said chute and container about the axis of the latter, and a circular form of smaller diameter than the container, means for so supporting said form that it may either be positioned adjacent the upper end of said container or lowered vertically into the interior thereof, said form being disposed, during the filling operation, adjacent the upper end of the container concentric therewith and below said chute, so as to provide an annular space between itself and the con- 'material is delivered from said chute.

12. Apparatus for filling a cylindrical container, comprising, in combination, means for supporting the container in upright position, a chute for delivering a stream of material into said container at a point adjacent the wall thereof, means for producing relative rotation of said chute and container about the axis of the latter, whereby the material is deposited in an annular zone, around the sides of the container, and a press plunger mounted co-axially with said container and arranged to enter the same from above to compress the material deposited therein.

FRANCIS B. FISHBURNE. CLARENCE H. HINNANT, JR. TI-IOMAS A. HICKS.

REFERENCES CITED- The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number Name Date Re. 17,769 Morris Aug. 12, 1930 55,885 Musser' June 26, 1866 58,325 1 Warner Sept. 25, 1866 621,612 Mattingly Mar. 21, 1899 765,409 Witterich July 19, 1904 769,947 Kramer Sept. 13, 1904 963,583 Kennel July 5 1910 1,049,029 Abjornsson et a1. Dec. 31, 1912 1,113,809 Mengle Oct. 13, 1914 1,431,216 Cameron Oct. 10, 1922 1,596,026 Schei Aug. 17, 1926 2,215,736

Jones Sept. 24, 1940 

